AMHERST, Mass. ­ Senior Amherst
College Co-captain Naomi Sullivan (Hudson, MA) scored 18
of her game-high 28 points in the second half, and freshman forward
Sarah Walker (West Hartford, CT) posted 19 points and 18
rebounds, as the Jeffs defeated the Tufts University Jumbos, 74-67,
in NESCAC conference action on Friday night.
Jumbo guard Meghann Gill (Blasdell, NY)
connected for 11 first-half points as the two teams fought back
and forth throughout the first 15 minutes. But with the Jumbos
leading 23-19 just inside the seven-minute mark, the Jeffs went
on a 17-0 run, with all 17 points coming from the trio of Sullivan,
Walker, and freshman guard Sally Hamill (Scituate, MA),
to take a 36-23 lead to the break.
The Jumbos rallied in the second half behind
freshman center Emily Goodman (Briarcliff, NY), who cleaned
up on the glass, scoring 21 of her team-high 27 points and grabbing
eight of her 14 rebounds in the second period. But Sullivan and
Walker were too tough inside, and Walker's three-point play inside
the 1:30-mark sealed the win for the Jeffs, who shot 25-49 from
the field for the game (51.0 percent). Despite 22 offensive rebounds,
the Jumbos were held a 25-71 (35.2 percent) shooting performance
from the field, and a 9-17 mark from behind the three-point arc.
Sullivan added five assists, four rebounds
and five steals to her 28-point effort, while Walker notched a
career-best four-block performance for the Jeffs. Hamill, who
finished with a career-high 16 points, was the only other Amherst
player in double figures, finishing with 16 points on 4-7 shooting.
For the Jumbos (8-3), Goodman's 27 points led
three players in double figures, including Gill, who finished
with 16, and freshman Erin Harrington (Fall River, MA),
who finished with 14 points, including an impressive 4-5 performance
from downtown. Tufts, who falls to 0-2 in NESCAC play with the
loss, heads down to Hartford to battle Trinity College tomorrow
afternoon, while the Jeffs (10-4), winners of six straight, host
Bates College in a showdown of two of the NESCAC's top three teams.
The Jeffs are 6-0 in January, and are 2-0 in their first two NESCAC
games.